How I would have done the recent NHL realignment

Well, I'm back.  Since the NHL season is over a month away, I've been playing a lot of NHL hockey on my PS2, and I've also been watching a lot of NHL Network, so I decided to share some of my thoughts on hockey.

Like many NHL fans out there, I am not a fan of the recent NHL realignment, which goes something like this...

Western Confernce
Pacific Division

• Anaheim Ducks
• Arizona Coyotes (formerly Phoenix Coyotes)
• Calgary Flames
• Edmonton Oilers
• Los Angeles Kings
• San Jose Sharks
• Vancouver Canucks

Central Division

• Chicago Blackhawks
• Colorado Avalanche
• Dallas Stars
• Minnesota Wild
• Nashville Predators
• St. Louis Blues
• Winnipeg Jets

Eastern Confernce
Atlantic Division (formerly the Northeast Division)

• Boston Bruins
• Buffalo Sabres
• Detroit Red Wings
• Florida Panthers
• Montreal Canadiens
• Ottawa Senators
• Tampa Bay Lightning
• Toronto Maple Leafs

Metropolitan Division (formerly the old Atlantic Division)

• Carolina Hurricanes
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• New Jersey Devils
• New York Islanders
• New York Rangers
• Philadelphia Flyers
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• Washington Capitals

If I was running the NHL, I would have kept the six-division format, but do only minor realignments, like so...

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

• New Jersey Devils
• New York Islanders
• New York Rangers
• Philadelphia Flyers
• Pittsburgh Penguins

Northeast Division

• Boston Bruins
• Buffalo Sabres
• Montreal Canadiens
• Ottawa Senators
• Toronto Maple Leafs

Southeast Division

• Carolina Hurricanes
• Florida Panthers
• Nashville Predators (since Nashville is in the South)
• Tampa Bay Lightning
• Washington Capitals

Western Conference

Central Division

• Chicago Blackhawks
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• Detroit Red Wings
• Minnesota Wild (to keep in tone with the old Norris Division)
• St. Louis Blues

Northwest Division

• Calgary Flames
• Colorado Avalanche
• Edmonton Oilers
• Vancouver Canucks
• Winnipeg Jets (to keep in tone with the old Smythe Division)

Pacific Division

• Anaheim Ducks
• Arizona Coyotes (formerly Phoenix Coyotes)
• Dallas Stars
• Los Angeles Kings
• San Jose Sharks

However...if I did decide to use the four-division format, I would have kept it the same as the real NHL realignment, but get rid of Columbus and Florida, due to their lack of regular season success in recent years. (Yes, I would have kept the Arizona Coyotes.  Deal with it.)

Power Rangers pairings

Back on New Year's Day 2013 (seems like forever), I made a list of my favorite 199 Super Sentai couples from the first 35 Super Sentai series.  Now, since "Power Rangers" is currently adapting Gokaiger into "Super Megaforce", I figured that I should do a Power Rangers-based list.  Now, unlike the previous 199 Super Sentai Couples list, this list will be much shorter.  In fact, for this list, I am only listing all of the female counterparts to the 199 Super Sentai (including those whose Sentai counterparts are actually male), and showing my favorite couples for each Ranger.  I will be presenting this list in chronological and ranking order (and by ranking order, I mean how the Rangers rank in the chain-of-command).

Please note that I will list the girls first, followed by their male companion.  Also note that they were listed under the series that they originally debuted in.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 1

• Trini Kwan (MMPR Yellow Ranger I) and Billy Cranston (MMPR Blue Ranger)
• Kimberly Hart (MMPR Pink Ranger I) and Tommy Oliver (MMPR Green Ranger, MMPR White Ranger, Zeo Ranger V--Red, Red Turbo Ranger I, Black Dino Ranger)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2

• Aisha Campbell (MMPR Yellow Ranger II) and Rocky DeSantos (MMPR Red Ranger II, Zeo Ranger III--Blue)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 3 and Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers

• Katherine "Kat" Hillard (MMPR Pink Ranger II, Zeo Ranger I--Pink, Pink Turbo Ranger I) and Jason Lee Scott (MMPR Red Ranger I, Gold Zeo Ranger II)
• Delphine (White Aquitar Ranger) and Aurico (Red Aquitar Ranger)

Power Rangers Zeo

• Tanya Sloan (Zeo Ranger II--Yellow, Yellow Turbo Ranger I) and Adam Park (MMPR Black Ranger II, Zeo Ranger IV--Green, Green Turbo Ranger I)

Power Rangers Turbo

• Ashley Hammond (Yellow Turbo Ranger II, Yellow Space Ranger) and Andros (Red Space Ranger)
• Cassie Chan (Pink Turbo Ranger II, Pink Space Ranger) and T.J. Johnson (Red Turbo Ranger II, Blue Space Ranger)

Power Rangers in Space

(Yes, I know Karone was a bad guy in "Space", and didn't become a Ranger until Lost Galaxy.  She debuted in "Space", so she counts.)

• Karone (Honorary Purple Space Ranger, Pink Galaxy Ranger {Temp.}) and Zhane (Silver Space Ranger)

Power Rangers Lost Galaxy

• Maya (Yellow Galaxy Ranger) and Mike Corbett (Magna Defender II)
• Kendrix Morgan (Pink Galaxy Ranger) and Leo Corbett (Red Galaxy Ranger)

Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue

• Kelsey Winslow (Yellow Lightspeed Ranger) and Chad Lee (Blue Lightspeed Ranger)
• Dana Mitchell (Pink Lightspeed Ranger) and Carter Grayson (Red Lightspeed Ranger)

Power Rangers Time Force

• Katie Walker (Yellow Time Force Ranger) and Trip (Green Time Force Ranger)
• Jen Scotts (Pink Time Force Ranger) and Wesley Collins (Red Time Force Ranger)

Power Rangers Wild Force

• Taylor Earhardt (Yellow Wild Force Ranger) and Eric Myers (Quantum Ranger)
• Alyssa Enrilé (White Wild Force Ranger) and Cole Evans (Red Wild Force Ranger)

Power Rangers Ninja Storm

• Tori Hanson (Blue Wind Ranger) and Blake Bradley (Navy Thunder Ranger)

Power Rangers Dino Thunder

• Kira Ford (Yellow Dino Ranger) and Trent Fernandez-Mercer (White Dino Ranger)

Power Rangers SPD

• Elizabeth "Z" Delgado (Yellow SPD Ranger) and Jack Landors (Red SPD Ranger I)
• Sydney "Syd" Drew (Pink SPD Ranger) and Schuyler "Sky" Tate (Blue SPD Ranger, Red SPD Ranger II)
• Katherine "Kat" Manx (Kat Ranger {even if it was temporary, she's still a Ranger}) & Anubis "Doggie" Cruger (Shadow Ranger) [Notes:  I can't believe I forgot about this when I originally posted this entry.  Oh, and BTW, I was not a fan on how the SPD storyline went, particularly how his "wife" survived.  Hey, it's my blog, and I'll write what I want.]

Power Rangers Mystic Force

• Madison Rocca (Blue Mystic Ranger) and Nick Russell (Red Mystic Ranger)
• Vida Rocca (Pink Mystic Ranger) and Xander Bly (Green Mystic Ranger)
• Udonna (White Mystic Ranger) and Leanbow (Wolf Warrior)

Power Rangers Operation Overdrive

• Veronica "Ronnie" Robinson (Yellow Overdrive Ranger) and Will Aston (Black Overdrive Ranger)
• Rose Ortiz (Pink Overdrive Ranger) and Mackenzie "Mack" Hartford (Red Overdrive Ranger)

Power Rangers Jungle Fury

• Lily Chilman (Yellow Jungle Ranger) and Casey Rhodes (Red Jungle Ranger) [Note:  IMHO, even though Theo asked Lily out on a date in the last episode, they probably decided to just remain friends.  That's how I see it.]
• Camille (Green Chameleon Warrior) and Jarrod (Black Lion Warrior)

Power Rangers RPM

• Summer Landsdown (Yellow RPM Ranger) and Dillon (Black RPM Ranger)
• Gemma (Silver RPM Ranger) and Flynn McAllister (Blue RPM Ranger)

Power Rangers Samurai/Super Samurai

• Mia Watanabe (Pink Samurai Ranger) and Jayden Shiba (Red Samurai Ranger)
• Emily (Yellow Samurai Ranger) and Mike (Green Samurai Ranger) [Note:  How come these two and Kevin don't have surnames?!  THEY'RE NOT EXTRATERRESTRIALS!!!]
• Lauren Shiba (Red Samurai Ranger {F}) and Antonio Garcia (Gold Samurai Ranger)

Power Rangers Megaforce/Super Megaforce

• Emma Goodall (Pink Megaforce Ranger, Pink Super Megaforce Ranger) and Troy Burrows (Red Megaforce Ranger, Red Super Megaforce Ranger)
• Gia Moran (Yellow Megaforce Ranger, Yellow Super Megaforce Ranger) and Jake Holling (Black Megaforce Ranger, Green Super Megaforce Ranger)

And that's my list.  What do you guys think of it?

Sale of the Century Shopping Lot Winners (syndicated version)

Well, since GSN finished their initial run of syndie "Sale of the Century" episodes, I figured it was time to compare the four Lot winners from the shopping era.  Even though the last one hasn't had his run air on GSN yet, I still feel obligated to mention him since he is the all-time winner during regular play in the history of American "Sale of the Century".

John Goss

John Goss had previously been a big winner on "Now You See It" in 1974 (winning the $7,000 solo round) and "The New $25,000 Pyramid" in 1983 (winning over $38,300 in cash during his five-day run, plus a videotape recorder and camera, as well as a trip to Japan) before making his Sale debut in episode 16 (which was one of the few episodes that was not part of the syndie package on GSN), which was also, coincidentally, the first episode with the revised Sale prices.  As mentioned in the previous posting, originally $610 was need to buy the Car at Level 6, followed by $720 for all six major prizes on stage at Level 7, and finally the LOT (all the prizes PLUS the Cash Jackpot for totaling well over $100,000) at $830.  Here, the Car was now priced at $530, followed by $640 for the six major prizes, and $750 for the Lot.  John was on for eight shows, and racked up EXACTLY $750 to buy $131,933 in cash and prizes, including a Nissan 300ZX and a $72,000 Cash Jackpot, for a grand total of $156,339.  In his eight shows (I should point out that his seventh was also not part of the GSN package), John averaged $94 per episode (for the purposes of this blog, I will round off all average scores to the nearest dollar) and surpassed the "Century Mark" ($100 during the main game) three times (in his second, fifth, and sixth episodes).

Helaine Lowery

Helaine Lowery was the second to win the Lot on the syndicated version of "Sale", with her $130,850 Lot including a BMW 528e sedan, and a $64,000 Cash Jackpot, for a grand total of $142,974.  On her first show, in episode 31, she defeated a champion that had scored $134 in his previous episode, and she accumulated $783 in her eight shows, averaging $98 per episode.  Helaine managed to reach the Century Mark four times during her run (in her second, fifth, sixth, and seventh episodes), and she was pushed to the limit during her Lot-clinching episode, being tied with her opponent during the third Instant Bargain, and even trailing by $5 at the start of the Speed Round.  But despite this, she persevered, thanks also to some incorrect answers by her opponent.

Alice Conkwright

Ah, yes.  We had to get to her sooner or later.  Alice Conkwright is infamous among the "Sale of the Century" fanbase for never buying one Instant Bargain.  Not one.  She drove Jim Perry to tears, she got him on his knees begging, she even got him to throw a temper tantrum one time when she didn't buy.  But regardless, she still picked up some cash and prizes on the Fame Game board, and ultimately won the $136,275 Lot in six days, which is a "Sale of the Century" record.  Her major prizes included an Audi 5000 (which, incidentally, is one of the most infamous cars of the 1980s), and a $77,000 Cash Jackpot.  Her steadfast refusal to buy Instant Bargains resulted in her reaching the Century Mark in every one of her six games (oh, I should also point out that in her first game, episode 61, she defeated Michael Friedman, a student at USC who was playing for the Lot himself, and, to my knowledge, he is the only player in American Sale history to play for the Lot and lose), averaging $129 per show (her total bank was $775, just for the record).  She also managed to tie the highest one-game score of $145 TWICE during her run, in her third and fourth episodes.

Tim Holleran

While Tim Holleran's episodes were not part of the original syndie GSN package, I had to include him because he is the all-time regular winner in the history of American "Sale of the Century", plus his episodes recently aired on GSN (November 11-20, for the record).  He made his debut in the last episode of season 1 (episode 100), and lasted for eight shows, earning $802 in his bank, and a total of $166,875 in cash and prizes, including an Alfa Romeo Spider and a $90,000 Cash Jackpot (which is the second-highest Cash Jackpot in American Sale history on record).  He reached the Century Mark four times during his run (with scores of $100, $105, $120, and $125 in his first, second, fourth, and sixth episodes, respectively), and like Alice Conwright before him, is one of the few champions to average the Century Mark throughout his run (he averaged about $100 per show, just for the record).  Tim was in a position to win the $156,561 Lot in his seventh episode, as he had $637, but he ultimately won it in the following episode.

And that's all from me for now.  I'll have more later.  See ya.

Sale of the Century stuff

I haven't done anything in a while, so I thought since GSN recently started airing the syndicated version of "Sale of the Century" (the best version of American "Sale of the Century", IMHO), I thought I'd share my thoughts on it, particularly the 23 episodes that have aired so far.

As mentioned in a previous blog entry, one major plus for the syndicated version of "Sale" compared to the daytime version was the placement of the Cash Jackpot ($50,000 + $1,000 each night until won).  In the daytime version, the Cash Jackpot was Level 7 (between the CAR and the LOT {all the prizes plus the Cash Jackpot}), and as a result of that, many champions simply chose to take the money and run, even if they were in advantageous positions to win the LOT.  When they began the Shopping endgame in syndication, Level 7 simply became All Six Major Prizes (including the CAR), making this version virtually identical to the Australian shopping endgame that ran from 1982 to 1988.

Originally, the Sale Price for the Level 1 price was $85, Level 2 was $195, Level 3 was $285, Level 4 was $390, Level 5 was $485, the Car (Level 6) was $610, All the Prizes (Level 7) was $720, and the LOT (Level 8) was $830.  After three weeks, the prices for the prizes for all the levels except the first one were decreased (Level 2 was now valued at $175, Level 3 was $260, Level 4 was $340, Level 5 was $445, the Car was $530, All the Prizes was $640, and the LOT was $750.  The first champion to win the LOT was John Goss, who, ironically, debuted in the first episode with the lower Sale prices, and also managed to win the Lot by accumulating EXACTLY $750 throughout his eight games (his Lot-clinching victory recently aired on GSN).

From what I've read, the Syndicated series lasted for 260 episodes, with the first half-season lasting 100 episodes (from January 7 to May 24, 1985), and the second full season lasting 160 episodes (debuting on September 16, 1985 and ending around late-April/May 1986).  The randomized Fame Game debuted on episode #121 (OAD--October 14, 1985), and the Winner's Board debuted five weeks later (#146--November 18, 1985).  Also, Instant Cash was never used in the syndicated version, instead debuting on the daytime version shortly after the syndie version went out of production.

Anyways, one of the minuses of the Shopping format that I haven't mentioned in previous entries is that if a champion is defeated while going for the next prize, their Bank is wiped out, and they leave with only the score on their podium in cash, along with any other cash and prizes accumulated throughout their run.  I think their bank should have been given to them as a consolation gift along with the aforementioned cash and prizes.  Now, the accumulating bank was dropped when "Sale" switched to the Winner's Board, so defeated champions only got "the cash in front of them" as Jim Perry would say if they didn't get any other cash during their run.  If "Sale" is ever revived properly in the future, I think players that didn't get any cash or prizes during the show should get a "house minimum", as they do on "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" nowadays.

Well, that's all I can think of at the moment.  Hopefully, my next entry won't take so long to post.

My problems with the daytime version of "Sale of the Century"--Special Weeks

For this Fourth of July, now that "Sale of the Century" has aired all of its acquired episodes and is re-airing them, I've decided to point out problems that I have with the special weeks that the show aired over its 6 1/4 year run.  Now, please bear in mind that I will only be including specials that I have seen.  If I skipped a special, that means I haven't seen it yet.

1983 Tournament of Champions

Running for four weeks in late October and early November 1983, this special series of episodes had the nine highest winners from the first nine months of the show, including Barbara Philips, Fran Wolfe, Richard Heft, and Mort Camens.  For the first three weeks, three champions competed for an entire week, starting off with $20 on Monday, and starting each subsequent game with an additional $20 added to their scores.  After every game, the player with the highest score would win a special prize and be given the opportunity to spend part of their bankroll in the "Shopping" endgame, which was played the same as normal, except that they could buy more than one item.  At the end of the week, the highest scoring player advanced to the finals and spent their bankroll on whatever prizes they could afford.  The finals were the same as before, with the winner at the end of the week, in this case, Mort Camens, winning The Lot (all six major prizes including a Corvette and the $50,000 Cash Jackpot).

My problem with this version is that it's too long.  For starters, it's twice as long as the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions that would begin two years later (in fact, that has more players--15, with single matches being played in the quarterfinals and semifinals, and a two-day final).  What I would do is cut the tournament in half to two weeks, with the first six shows each being part a two-game semifinals, and the player with the highest score after the second game moving on to the finals.  In the finals, which would begin on Tuesday, the first player to win two games would win the Lot ($50,000 + the six major prizes).  In the event the Tournament ended on Wednesday, or Thursday, regular shows would resume the following day.

1985 Tournament of Champions

In this tournament, there were 18 champions, with the first six shows being preliminary games, followed by two semi-final games with the six winners, and a best-of-three finals with the two champions.

Now I don't have a problem with a one-on-one game for "Sale of the Century".  Hell, the Australian version has often done two-player games for their specials.  The problem I have here is that rather than make a special two-player podium for this tournament, they simply covered up the leftmost podium with plywood, making it look cheap.

My other problem with this particular tournament is the cheapness of the grand prize.  Now, don't get me wrong--$25,000 cash and a new Porsche (valued at about $25,000) isn't that bad of a grand prize, but compared to what's regularly offered on "Sale", it's definitely a step down.  I would have had the cash be $50,000 (the same amount as the cash bonus on regular episodes), with the Porsche and other prizes included so that the Grand Prize would total over $100,000.  I think this is when the network started to be cheap with the show as a few months earlier, they changed the endgame from Shopping to the Winner's Board (and the flat $50,000 cash bonus).

International Invitational Tournament (1987)
I haven't seen too much of this, but from what I have seen, the first three weeks would be preliminaries involving Canada, Australia, and the United States.  In the preliminaries, nine contestants would compete in the first three days, with a two-day semifinal between the three winners.  Unlike the '83 Tournament of Champions, $20 would not be added at the start of the second game.  In the finals, the first country to win three games would win a new Corvette.  This tournament would be won by Australia's Cary Young, arguably considered to be the greatest "Sale of the Century" player EVER.

One thing I'd change about this tournament was instead of having Canadian contestants (which I believe was done as a reference to Jim Perry hosting shows North of the Border), I would have contestants from the United Kingdom, as that country was one of the first to produce its own version of "Sale of the Century".

Special Weeks during the Winner's Big Money Game Era
Special Weeks such as College Week, the End of Summer Bash, and Brides Week had five regular shows with special contestants, with each episode having a $2,000 Instant Cash and a $5,000 Winner's Big Money Game.  If you read my previous entry, you'll know exactly how I feel about them.  Also, to determine who won the car, all five champions from throughout the week went to the Randomized Fame Game board where the highest number won the Car.

Like I mentioned in my previous entry, I hate the randomized Fame Game board.  How would I have done these special weeks, you ask?  Well, first, I would have every show have four contestants as opposed to the regular three.  The first four shows would be played normally, and the four winners would then play the Friday show for the Car (with no Winner's Big Money Game played).

True Romance (November 1988)

My first problem with the format is that they decided to air it in November.  Now, I don't have a significant other, and I'm not really too much of an expert on romance, but I think the month of February would be more appropriate to do a "True Romance" week.  Well, in this case, "True Romance" actually lasted two weeks.

For the first nine shows, single contestants would play a single game of "Sale of the Century".  For the final show, the three players that had the highest scores in the preliminary heats (with a playoff draw being held backstage to determine the third player due to a tie) competed in one final game where the winner won a Ford Probe (one of my least favorite cars of all time).

Besides the bizarre airdate, I don't really have too much of a problem with True Romance week as opposed to some of the other weeks.  If I did have to make a change, I'd have it last three weeks as opposed to two, with a semifinal series played after the first nine shows, followed by a three-day final with $20 being added at the start of each episode, and the winner of the tournament would get the Car (hopefully, a more romantic car than a Ford Probe).

And those are my thoughts for now.  Hope to come up with more soon.  See you guys later.  Happy Fourth for any Americans reading this.

My problems with the daytime version of "Sale of the Century"

It's been a few weeks since "Sale of the Century" starting airing on GSN, and while it is one of my favorite game shows, I will admit that I do have some problems with it...particularly the version that aired on NBC Daytime.  Here are a few problems I have with the show.

Number One--Putting the Cash Jackpot between the Car and the Lot.

When "Sale" first began, there was no "Cash Jackpot" of $50,000-plus that a champion would win during his or her run.  Instead, after the six main prizes, there was "The Lot", which was all six prizes plus enough cash (seemingly always less than $10,000) for the entire lot to equal $95,000 exactly.  By May, they added a Cash Jackpot, which started at $50,000 and added $1,000 each day until it was won.  Now, I don't have a problem with big money being won on a game.  What I do have a problem with is how it is won.  When the Cash Jackpot was added to the daytime version, it was made its own level, with Level 6 being the Car, Level 7 being the Cash Jackpot, and Level 8 being The Lot (all six major prizes plus the Cash Jackpot).  I think this was deliberately done by the network to discourage champions from going all the way.  In fact, there was only one champion under this format, Barbara Phillips, who won all six prizes and the Cash Jackpot for over $150,000 in cash and prizes.  When "Sale" added a syndicated nighttime version in January of 1985, they moved the Cash Jackpot to the Lot, changing Level 7 to simply winning all six major prizes.  This move encouraged more champions to go all the way, and in fact, there were four Lot winners during this period.

Number Two--The Winner's Board

Now, I don't have a problem with the Winner's Board itself.  What I do have a problem with is the fact that they discontinued the progressive Cash Jackpot in both versions, instead having the Cash Bonus worth a flat $50,000.  I believe this move was done because of budget cuts, particularly on the syndicated version, as its ratings began to drop during the second season.  But this doesn't bother me as much as some of the others.

Number Three--The Randomized Fame Game

In the Fall of 1985, "Sale of the Century" changed its Fame Game format from simply picking a number (or a Famous Face in its first year) to having a randomizer flash lights around the board and the contestant had to hit his/her buzzer to stop it (a la "Press Your Luck").  My question is why?  The original version was just fine.  I think this was just change for the sake of change, and while this is the most memorable version of the Fame Game, and many fans seem to like it, I'm not one of them.  It's just too loud for my tastes.

Number Four--Instant Cash

Like the Winner's Board, I don't have a problem with the basis of Instant Cash (that is, a contestant buys a chance at a 1-in-3 shot at a cash bonus {$1,000 + $1,000 each day until won}).  What I do have a problem with is how it's executed.  First, you have to spend your entire lead in order to get a shot at it.  Now, if you have a lead of $15 or less, you're more willing to take a chance at it, but if you have like a $40 lead, unless you're a complete idiot (or a contestant on Temptation 2007), you'd probably hold on to your lead.  When the Australian version changed its game to "Cashcard" in 1989, they simply had the game played for a flat $15 (comparative to a third Instant Bargain which the Instant Cash replaced in 1986 {shortly after the Syndicated version ended its run}).

But the biggest problem I have with the daytime version of "Sale of the Century" came in the last year of the show with just four simple words.

WINNER'S

BIG

MONEY

GAME

This is the move, besides the network moving it to the 10:00 a.m. time slot resulting in pre-emptions over most of the country, that ended up killing the show.  This endgame was added due to two things.  One--budget cuts, and two--the network wanted a "proper" endgame for the show.  In my honest opinion, "Sale of the Century" doesn't NEED a problem endgame.  You might be inclined to disagree with me, but that's my view, and I'm sticking to it.  Now, I don't have a problem with the basis of the Winner's Big Money Game--solve four (five in earlier episodes with this format) six-clue puzzles in 20 seconds (25 in earlier episodes).  The problem I have is in its execution and because it was on a show where shopping and big prizes were key.  I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it if one clue popped up every second, but according to a YouTube comment I read, each clue came up every 1.5 seconds.  Also, there's the "You must stop the clock before it hits Double Zero" rule that has screwed numerous contestants.  As soon as that bell rings, it's game over, no matter how fast you buzz in.  The clock should have counted in tenths of a second instead of single seconds to prevent so many last-second losses.  When I originally posted this, 40 episodes had aired on GSN, with 39 Winner's Big Money Games being played (the remaining episode was the finals of True Romance Week, in which the winner of the game won a brand-new Ford Probe {one of my least favorite cars ever}).  Of those 39 games, only NINE were won.  That's right--only NINE games won out of 39.  That's only a 23% winning record.  However, over the next twenty-five shows, an extra 13 were won, including a six-show winning streak (which included all of Brides Week), bringing the overall record to 22 wins and 42 losses and a percentage of .344...still a losing record.

Another reason why I hate this game is because of how difficult it is to win the CAR.  First, you have to win seven main games.  That's right--SEVEN main games.  In the shopping format, if you were great enough in the front game, you could possibly earn enough money to buy a new car in five days, four if you're really good.  In the Winner's Board era, you could win a new car on your very first day if you're lucky enough to get the WIN card followed by the CAR (and it HAS happened).  But in the WBMG, the format just makes it impossible for some cars to be even played for.  And get this--if you lose the seventh WBMG, you have to retire "undefeated".  That's them saying, "Okay, you lost the car, now get out of here!"

If I do have anything positive to say, it's that a champion does not have to put any of his major prizes at risk to go for the eighth Winner's Big Money Game.  If they win that main game, then they play for $50,000 cash.  If they lose, they retire for good.  Only one player, Rani White, managed to win the $50,000 during its run, and even then, she didn't win every single WBMG (she only missed her fifth, which was played for $9,000).

I like "Sale of the Century", I really do.  It's just starting with the Winner's Big Money Game era has made it very difficult for me to really enjoy it.  I hope if GSN gets more episodes, they get the ones from either the Syndicated version (which was the absolute best version of American Sale IMHO) or even the early daytime episodes (particularly the Famous Faces era).

P.S.:  I know I didn't include the "Final Three" format from the first year of the show.  I didn't think it was necessary to include it.  Besides, at least they changed it to the Speed Round.

Million Drop comparison

I know, it's been forever since I've done one of these (not that anyone's actually reading this), but I thought I'd do another comparison for the hell of it.  This time, I'm looking at one of my favorite new game show formats in recent years...The Million Drop.

It goes under various titles depending on where the show is aired.  In the original UK version (which is still airing at the time of this writing...for now), it is titled "The Million Pound Drop LIVE", due to the fact that the show airs live on Channel 4 (as opposed to most international versions, including the ones I will mention here, which are all pre-recorded).  In the United States and Singapore, it is titled "Million Dollar Money Drop".  In Australia, it is simply titled the "Million Dollar Drop".  I will be looking at the four aforementioned versions, even though it has aired in other countries as well.

The basic format is the same--a pair of contestants are given 1,000,000 of the local currency and have to survive a series of questions in order to leave with any portion of it.  Depending on the question, there are four, three, or two possible answers.  They can put all of their money on one answer if they wish, or they could spread their money around if they aren't confident.  BUT...and this is a very big "BUT"...they MUST put everyone on the line on every question, and they MUST leave at least one drop open at all times (meaning they must put absolutely everything on one drop for the final question).  Also, if the don't have any money on any of the drops after the time limit (see below), the lose that cash.  Here's how the various formats differ.

British Version--The Million Pound Drop LIVE

In the original British version, the top prize is £1,000,000 (obviously), divided into 40 bundles of £25,000 each (each £25,000 bundle consists of 500 £50 notes).  There are eight questions, with 4 choices on the first four questions, 3 choices on the next three questions, and 2 choices on the final question.  Each question gives the contestants 60 seconds to move their money around.  Once the 60 seconds are up, or once they are confident on an answer, the cash is "locked in", and any money that drops is out of play.  As of this writing, the most money won on the Drop is £300,000, while the most a team has taken to the final question is £525,000 (the question on which they lost on was on which couple was married first--Prince Charles & Princess Di or Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne; FTR, the right answer was Charles & Di).  Some teams have even lost all £1 million on the first question!

American Version--Million Dollar Money Drop

The American version had several differences to the format.  For starters, the $1,000,000 was divided into 50 bundles of $20,000 each (each $20,000 bundle consists of 100 $20 bills).  Here, there are only 7 questions, with varying time limits, plus a 30-second "quick change" that can be used on the first six questions.  Questions 1-3 have 4 choices and a 60 second time limit, questions 4 & 5 have 3 choices and a 75 second time limit, question 6 has 3 choices and a 90 second time limit, and the final question has no time limit.  This version is known for the controversy in the very first episode involving a question on which came first--Post-it Notes, Macintosh, or Sony Walkman.  The players put $800,000 of their money on Post-it Notes, but the answer turned out to be "Sony Walkman" (they still had $200,000 left in play).  However, it was soon revealed that Post-it Notes had been introduced in 1977 under a different name, even though the name "Post-it Notes" came out after the Sony Walkman was introduced in the US.  I'd go into more detail, but to be honest, I don't really feel like it, because I am not a fan of this version, even though I'm an American.  See, even Americans can hate American versions of foreign shows.  Just look at Power Rangers and Super Sentai (although I do like both shows, just for the record).  Oh, BTW, the most won on this version was $300,000.

Australian Version--The Million Dollar Drop

The Aussie version was based primarily on the American format, with eight questions instead of seven.  An extra "level 1" question, with 4 choices and a 60 second time limit, was played.  The million was also divided into 50 bundles of $20,000 each (each bundle consists of 100 $20 notes).  A joke I've often made about this version was that the money bundles resembled bricks, due to the color of the Australian $20 note.  This version was also short-lived, only lasting a few weeks.  Despite that, I do like it slightly better than the U.S. version.  As of now, I don't know what the most cash was won on this version.  If anyone does, please let me know.

Singapore Version--Million Dollar Money Drop

In case you don't know, Singapore is a city-country located in Southeast Asia, with a multiracial population of Chinese, Malay, Indians, and others.  They became a fully independent nation on August 9, 1965, and the show in fact, debuted on National Day 2011 (their version of Independence Day, or Canada Day, or Australia Day, or whatever your country's national day is called).  This version uses the same format and graphics package as the original British version, with 60 seconds on each question, no changes, as well as having 40 bundles of $25,000 each (with each bundle consisting of 500 $50 notes).  The Singapore version got off to a rocky start when the first team lost on the VERY FIRST QUESTION!!! (The question had to do with what day of the week was January 1, 2011.  It was Saturday, just for the record.)  Overall, the show lasted just 13 episodes, with the most cash won here being $75,000 (compared to the other versions, which had six-figure wins).

Overall, I think the best version of the Million Drop is the British version.  Besides, the first version of a show is often the best.  Plus, it's still on the air, compared to the other versions, which were dropped (pun intended) after a short time on the air.